Born in London in 1921 as Audrey Holman, during World War II she worked for an average adjusters firm in London. She married Rowley Atterbury in 1943, and had one child,
Paul Atterbury, who went on to become an antiques expert and a regular on the
BBC's
Antiques Roadshow. In about 1949 Rowley Atterbury founded the Westerham Press, and Audrey worked with her husband in the printing business. During a train journey in 1950, Audrey met
Freda Lingstrom, the newly appointed head of BBC Children's Television. After striking up a conversation and establishing common interests, Lingstrom persuaded Atterbury to become a puppeteer on a new television series, to be called
Andy Pandy (1950–52). It is claimed that Lingstrom based the appearance of Andy Pandy on the young Paul Atterbury. Audrey Atterbury trained under John Wright, later the founder of the
Little Angel Theatre in
Islington, North London. Atterbury continued to work as a puppeteer in such series as
Flower Pot Men (1952–54), and
The Woodentops (1955–58). In around 1956, after separating from her husband, Audrey Atterbury went to live in
Highgate in London, near to her fellow BBC puppeteer, Molly Gibson, who was a close friend. The two worked together on
Rubovian Legends and other Gordon Murray puppet plays. Atterbury also worked for the
Little Angel Theatre, by then one of Britain’s leading puppet theatres. Atterbury worked on the puppet series
The Telegoons (1963–64), which was based on
Spike Milligan's radio show
The Goon Show. In the 1960s, television puppets started to be replaced by
animation, which led Atterbury to leave the BBC to take up a career in antiques, specialising in
pottery and
porcelain. She became a part-time antiques dealer, at the same time building up a large personal collection of
ceramics. Later, Atterbury worked for a number of antique dealers and in 1987 she joined
Christie's, becoming the longest serving and most respected member of the team of lady saleroom assistants. She was Secretary of the
Morley College Ceramic Circle for about 18 years.
Death After her
divorce, Atterbury did not remarry and lived in South London from about 1962 until she died in 1997 aged 75. On her death her collection of ceramics, including rare examples by
Royal Doulton and
Moorcroft, was sold at auction by Christie's. ==References==